To Nod His Head
by RubyBelle
Summary: Ino needs to go off, and Asuma is there. InoAsu Friendship fic. Oneshot, T, R&R pleeze! Flames are as welcomed as praises!


Ino wiped the tears from her eyes, as she ran down the forested path.

_Dammit, Shikamaru…_ She thought grimly, wincing as a branch scratched her arm.

The fourteen year-old cried silently, searching for a place to hide. After all, after her boyfriend—now ex—dumped her for her enemy, Ino had no place to go. Chouji was now ignoring her for all the world, and Shikamaru had run off with that…that _Sakura_.

Ino stumbled over a rock, crashing to the earth. By instinct, she placed her hands in front of her face, trying to protect her self. Her hand rebounded off of the dirt floor, and scratched on mutiple twigs.

Ino bit her lip to prevent a cry of pain.

She slowly opened her eyes, vision blurry by the tears. She glanced at her bruised and slightly bleeding hands, and bit her lip harder in self-hatred. She slowly lifted herself up to inspect the rest of the damages.

After examining her scratched knee, the blonde was back into her pace. Running through the thick forest, she kept the thought that it would all end soon in her mind.

Ino let out a small yelp as she ran through a thorn bush into a clearing. Looking up, she realized that it was her team's training ground. Ino bit her lip even harder.

She dragged her bleeding and bruised body towards a nearby tree, quietly wishing that her medical jutsu was more advanced. She sat down underneath the large oak tree, and closed her eyes.

"Ino?"

She opened her eyes. After wiping away the tears, Ino found her sensei leaning in front of her.

"Asuma…" She whispered. She quickly turned her head away.

The 27 year-old man sat in front of her. "Ino, what _happened_?" He asked, astonished.

Ino shook her head lightly. "Nothing."

Asuma frowned. "Nothing is wrong," He said.

Ino bit her lip, breaking the skin. As the bitter taste of blood filled her mouth, Ino cursed the fact that her sensei had to be in the clearing just as she came.

Asuma placed a hand on Ino's knee. "Dammit, Ino. You're smarter than this!" He muttered, brushing the dirt off of the wound.

"Well, I'm _sorry_ that I'm not as smart as Haruno in the medical area!" Ino shouted.

"Not that," Asuma sighed. "You're smarter than to put up with this crap. You're smarter than to leave your wounds like this, and run through the forest like that."

Ino glared at him. "What would _you_ know?" She asked, forcing as much venom in the 4 words as possible.

Asuma, oblivious to her words, went on. "You're a smart kunoichi. And, if you let this happen to you,"—he looked up—"Something's wrong."

Ino pouted. "Nothing that you would understand," She spat.

Asuma smiled. "True, I probably _wouldn't_ understand it," He pulled out a pack of cigarettes, and flicked out his lighter. "But, sometimes,"—he lit a cigarette—"It's good to have someone to go out on."

Ino stared at him blankly.

Asuma grinned. "Sometimes, we all need to go out on someone, unleashing all of our anger,"—he took a drag from his cigarette—"Even if that person's job is just to sit there, nod their head, pat the other person's back, and smile, even if they don't understand anything."

Ino's face warmed slightly. "And, you want the honor of having that job, Asuma?" She smiled.

Asuma nodded. "So. Go off."

Ino smiled. As she began her lengthy speech on Shikamaru's betrayal, she silently thanked Asuma.

For being that person to nod his head.

* * *

I just _needed_ to write this!

This isn't supposed to be a InoAsu oneshot, but just a little story on how Asuma is so cool!

I got my insparation for this after I realized that my BFF can just take all of the shit that I do. I keep going off, getting pissed off, and she's always there to just nod her head. Even if she doesn't understand my problems as well as I do, or she doesn't like Naruto as well as me, she jsut always ups and takes it.

I realized that Ino always needs to go to a physiatrist for her love problems, and Asuma always just shuts up and listens, that this would be a good story.


End file.
